The NFL offseason by no means actually sleeps, and Thursday evening will function one of many league’s annual traditions: the discharge of the regular-season schedule.
Some video games might be revealed earlier than then, nevertheless. Ahead of the disclosing of the total slate of video games at 8 p.m., the NFL will announce its 5 worldwide video games and new Black Friday tilt on Wednesday and what it calls “select” particular person video games on Wednesday and Thursday morning.
ESPN may even have a two-hour present highlighting the “Monday Night Football” schedule, with ESPN+ airing a separate schedule launch particular on the identical time. “NFL Live” may even reveal a Monday evening recreation at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
As for the Ravens, after eight video games at M&T Bank Stadium final season, they’ll get 9 dwelling video games and eight away video games in 2023. Aside from the same old divisional matchups, they’ll play video games towards groups from the AFC South, East and West and NFC West and North.
With the Ravens’ schedule set to be introduced, listed below are 5 issues to know:
Who are the Ravens enjoying at dwelling?
In addition to the same old AFC North division video games towards the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns, Baltimore may even host the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.
Three of these groups — the Bengals, Dolphins and Seahawks — made the playoffs final season. For Miami, it additionally marks the second of what’s going to be three straight journeys to Charm City with the Dolphins additionally scheduled to play the Ravens in Baltimore in 2024.
Who are the Ravens enjoying on the highway?
In addition to the annual journeys to Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, the Ravens may have highway video games towards the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals.
Four of these groups — the Bengals, 49ers, Jaguars and Chargers — made the playoffs final season. After no west-coast journeys in 2022, the Ravens may have three this season.
How many prime-time video games will the Ravens have?
Last season, the Ravens had three prime-time video games (Week 5 vs. Cincinnati; Week 8 on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers; Week 9 on the New Orleans Saints), their fewest since 2019.
It could be a shock if the Ravens didn’t have at the least that many this season.
Teams are allowed to play a most of six prime-time video games, and with the Ravens having re-signed star quarterback Lamar Jackson and added two-time All-Pro broad receiver Odell Beckham Jr., it’s seemingly they’ll get three, if no more, evening video games.
The Bengals, whom the Ravens almost upset within the AFC wild-card spherical of the playoffs final season, look like a no brainer, with the 49ers, Chargers, Dolphins, Seahawks and Jaguars intriguing prospects as effectively.
Will the Ravens play a global recreation?
The final — and solely — time the Ravens performed a global recreation was in 2017 towards the Jaguars in London. After getting drubbed 44-7, coach John Harbaugh didn’t maintain again his emotions concerning the expertise, saying, “To be honest with you — and maybe I’ll get into trouble for saying this — don’t plan on going over there any time soon to play again. So, somebody else can have that job.”
It’s a quote that may absolutely be introduced up if the Ravens enterprise abroad this 12 months, one thing that could be a risk with the Titans and Jaguars being two of the three groups (together with the Buffalo Bills) scheduled to host opponents in London this season. The NFL would absolutely have an curiosity in displaying off a probably very explosive offense to a global viewers, with Jackson having been seven months away from being drafted by the Ravens the final time they performed in London.
Who has the hardest/best schedule within the AFC and NFC?
Based on opponents’ mixed successful share in 2022, solely six groups within the AFC — the Jaguars, Steelers, Browns, Titans, Colts and Texans — have a neater schedule than the Ravens this season. Among all 32 NFL groups, the Ravens may have the Twelfth-easiest schedule, with their opponents having received 48.4% of video games final season.
As for the league’s hardest schedule, that belongs to the reigning NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles, whose opponents received 56.6% of their video games final season, with 10 reaching the playoffs. Right behind them are the Dolphins, who, after going 9-8 final season and dropping to the Bills within the wild-card spherical, get a brutal slate of highway video games towards the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Chargers, Ravens and Aaron Rodgers-led New York Jets.
The league’s best schedule, in the meantime, belongs to the Atlanta Falcons, who went 7-10 final season and whose opponents this 12 months received simply 41.7% % of their video games a season in the past. There are additionally simply 4 playoff groups amongst that group, the fewest allowed underneath the NFL’s scheduling pointers. The subsequent best schedule, in the meantime, is that of the New Orleans Saints, whose opponents received 42.7% of their video games final season. In every of the previous seven years, at the least one of many two groups with the best schedules within the league has made the playoffs.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com